Recipe: Cold Soba Noodle Salad

 

by Lynsey McGarry

This is the noodle you need for those unbearably balmy summer days when you may actually melt if you so much as looked at the stove. Veggie packed, and versatile enough to accommodate even the pickiest eaters, these noodles are filling on their own or as a more vibrant topping to an otherwise simple bed of salad greens.

Recipe

Serves 2 as a main; serves 4 as a side Ingredients: ~10oz soba noodles (*any long spaghetti noodle will do) 2 Yellow Squash or Zucchini (grated) 2 carrots (grated) 1 bunch sugar snap peas (thinly sliced) 1 cucumber (thinly sliced) Sauce/Dressing: 1 lime juiced (+zest if desired) 5 Tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 1 splash fish sauce (*optional) 2 tsp honey (or agave / maple syrup) 1 Tbsp nut butter (*optional) 1-2 tsp pasta water 1 shallot (minced) 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (*optional) 3 cloves fresh garlic (minced) Garnish: Torn Basil or mint leaves Sliced scallions Crushed peanuts or hazelnuts (if desired) More red pepper flakes

 

Instructions: 1.     Grate yellow squash and carrots (with cheese grater or food processor + attachment), and slice sugar snap peas. Set vegetables aside in serving bowl. 2.     Cook pasta according to packaged instructions, setting aside some pasta water for sauce. Drain noodles and set on top of grated vegetables for ~5-10 minutes; heat from the pasta noodles will lightly cook the vegetables. If you prefer the vegetables to be more cooked, you can lightly sauté in a pan prior to mixing with the noodles, but this is likely unnecessary. 3.     Whisk the sauce ingredients together, in no particular order, and dress the noodles after they’ve had a chance to heat the vegetables sufficiently. 4.     If eating right away, top with the thinly slice cucumber and your selected garnishes.  If preferred cold, store in a container in the fridge (up to ~4 days).